Grade Point Average

Grade Point Averages (GPA's) are a big part of high school lingo... and yet some students might not  know how grade point averages are computed.  Your transcript is a record consisting of every high school class you have ever taken and the grade you earned in each class. 

The "easy" explanation for how your GPA is calculated is that every class you take at WKHS taught by a Kilbourne teacher or a CC+ instructor with traditional grading is computed into your GPA. Some students begin taking high school courses while still in middle school. Those grades will appear on your transcript, but they are not calculated into your GPA. This is done to assist you because many times middle school students haven't recognized the impact that their grades have on their high school GPA and the long-term impact on their future college applications. Additionally, any classes that you pass that were taken as pass/ fail appear on your transcript but will not be calculated in your GPA.

All regular and honors classes are unweighted which means that they are all based on a 4.0 scale.  AP, IB and CC+ courses are weighted on a scale of 1.25.  Below is a chart that shows how GPA is calculated.

Letter Grades	Percentage	GPA Scale	AP/ IB Weighted Calculation	AP/ IB Weighted GPA
A	90 – 100%	4.0	4.0 x 1.25	5.00
B	80 – 89%	3.0	3.0 x 1.25	3.75
C	70 – 79%	2.0	2.0 x 1.25	2.50
D	60 – 69%	1.0	1.0 x 1.25	1.25
F	0 – 59%	0.0
S	Satisfactory
P	Passing

All classes are granted credit based upon the semester.  This means that when you pass the 1st semester you have earned that credit and it is computed into your grade point average. Each semester class is worth 1/2 a credit excluding physical education courses which are worth 1/4 a credit.  So, if you earn a B in the first semester of English 1 and a C in the first semester of Physical Science, then your GPA for these two semesters of classes would equal a 2.5. Plusses and Minuses in your grades are still calculated based upon the base grade as we don't have different GPA weights for a B+ vs a B or B-.

It is important to know that some students have taken classes at other schools and are transferring their credit to WKHS. Those classes will also appear on your transcript with the grades, but are not computed into your GPA. This is because your Kilbourne GPA will just reflect your Kilbourne classes - any classes you took in another district or an online school will have the GPA that you earned at that school. So, for example, if you transferred to WKHS from a surrounding district, your classes and grades will be transferred over to Kilbourne, but they won't be included in your Kilbourne GPA. This means that students will not have a grade point average until after they have completed a semester at WKHS. The reason that this is important is that some students have transferred from schools that have different grading scales and it doesn't allow equitable comparisons. When students are applying to college you will submit both of your transcripts so that they have the complete picture of your grade point average.

You can see a copy of your transcript on Infinite Campus and it also shows your grade point average.  If you have any questions about your GPA, stop by and see us.

CC+ Classes Begin

Just a reminder to all students who are taking a CSCC class through CC+, your classes begin this week!  These classes meet for 2 periods, but only twice a week.  So, those of you who are taking English Comp 1 or Ethics, you will have classes on Mondays and Wednesdays.  If you are taking Psychology, you will have classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  There are no CC+ class meetings on Fridays.

As we have talked about in the past, you will still have work to do for your college classes outside of your designated class time and those non-meeting days are an ideal time to stay disciplined at using for work time on those courses.

One important suggestion - because your CSCC professors will all use your CSCC email, we would strongly suggest you set up the automatic forward option on your emails to send it to a gmail account which you check regularly or set up your CSCC account to your phone.  Check out the details on CSCC's website for more information on how to do that.

Good luck as your start your college classes!

Office Workers

We have a great volunteer opportunity that students can take advantage of during the school day within the comfortable walls of WKHS.  We have office workers volunteer their time to help out in the counseling/ administrative offices. Our office workers each year have been amazing!  They helped run passes, update the bulletin board, put together packets or whatever else was needed.  Some days were busier than others and so there were days when they didn't have to do much of anything to help us other than be available.  We do have an application process to be selected as an office worker, but if you are interested, we'd love to have you! Students with a period of academic prep or options in their schedule would be eligible to apply.  (You would no longer have prep or options if you chose to work in the office.) You will accumulate community service hours as an office worker. Applications are available in the front of the counseling center. 2 students will be selected for each period of the day.  

We have already had times in the last few days when we wished we had office workers so we could send a pass for a student to come see us.  So know this is a service opportunity that is truly valued and appreciated. Please apply as soon as possible if you are interested so we can get you involved!

Senior College Information Night

The Senior College Information Night will be held one week from today, on Thursday, September 3rd, at 7:00pm at WKHS in the auditorium. This is one of the most valuable meetings for senior students and parents to attend because there are so many college related questions that we will be able to answer.

We will be reviewing the college application process, the procedures for submitting your items to WKHS and to the colleges, and other information you need to know. We hope you will make every effort to attend! We strongly encourage both the seniors and their parents to attend this night.  Why?  Because the seniors are the ones who are actually applying to college and you need to know the steps and details involved specific to WKHS.  We think it is ideal for parents to also attend so they can help support you in your application and they don't ask you tons of questions that you will learn on this evening.

We know it is not always possible for every senior student and family to attend, but we hope you will try. Remember, with so many seniors, it can be really challenging if we are not all starting with the same foundation of information. This evening will answer all of your basic questions and then we’ll figure out the rest together as the year continues. We're looking forward to seeing you on September 3rd!

Meeting with School Counselors

Students, if you want to meet with us - just drop by our offices! That is honestly the BEST way to meet with us. You don't need to schedule an appointment in advance. We're generally around before and after school as well as during your lunch or academic prep/ options periods for you to stop in and chat.

You don't need a big reason to come down and say Hi. We are happy to see you even if you just wanted to tell us how well or how poorly you did on a test that day. If we are busy meeting with another student or parent - you can stop back down, leave a pass for us, send us an email to let your counselor know you want to see her. If we haven't tracked you down that day or the following day, chances are the pass we sent for you didn't make it to you or we can't find you in the commons - so please come back!

During high school there are times when you may wonder if there is anyone who cares and is willing to listen to what you are going through and we want to remind you that we are here for you.

Parents, out of respect for your time and our schedules of trying to prioritize and maximize meeting with students during the school day, we do ask that if you would like to meet with us that you reach out via email or phone so we can set up a time to meet in advance rather than just having parents attempt to drop by like students are doing. Thanks for understanding.

Meet the Teacher Night

On Wednesday evening, WKHS will host our annual Meet the Teacher night for parents/ guardians. This event is sponsored by our PTO.

This is a night when your parents can come through school, follow your schedule, and meet all of your teachers. Meet the Teacher part of the evening will be over by 9pm. Each class will be 10 minutes in length and yes, your parents will have the same 5 minute passing time that you have during the day. (Hopefully they won't get lost and be late or else they could end up with lots of tardies!) :-)

Here is the schedule for the evening:

Welcome & Introduction in WKHS Auditorium by Principal, Aric Thomas: 6:45pm
1st period - 7:00 - 7:10
2nd period - 7:15 - 7:25
3rd period - 7:30 - 7:40
4th period - 7:45 - 7:55
5th period - 8:00 - 8:10
6th period - 8:15 - 8:25
7th period - 8:30 - 8:40
8th period - 8:45 - 8:55

Please make sure you give your parents a screenshot copy of your schedule or at least write down the room numbers for all of your classes so they know where they are heading for the evening! Of course, parents, if your son/ daughter forget to give you a copy of their schedule, you can also print it off or pull it up on Infinite Campus. We will not have schedules available to hand out so this is a really important step for families to make the most of Meet the Teacher Night!

One of the benefits for parents about this evening is that it will allow you to put a face with a name so that if when your kids are talking about a test in Mr. ____'s class or an assignment for Mrs. ____'s class parents will be better able to keep it straight.

Confidentiality

Having safe adults that you can talk to and trust is an important aspect of navigating life as a high schooler. In addition to your parents and teachers, as counselors we hope to work to be able to earn your trust so we can also be one of those safe people in your life.

It is important to know that there are limits to confidentiality. Some of those limits are long-standing, consistent aspects. If you are at risk to yourself or someone else, we must report it. If someone is harming you (abuse or neglect), we must report it.

What is new in limits to confidentiality are some of the new Ohio laws that we must follow. If you share information with us related to gender - such as wanting to use a different name or pronouns, then we must share that information with your parents.

Another new requirement within the Ohio law is that we must notify your parents if you have had a "substantial change" academically, physically, or emotionally. 

Knowing that your trust is important, we want to make sure you understand that these new laws and requirements are in place. All of it is with the goal of helping to make sure you have as many positive, supportive adults in your life as possible. So if you have any questions about confidentiality, please don't hesitate to ask!